Presentation in the Temple

487 Presentation in the Temple
ca. 1343
Pietro Lorenzetti

The Presentation in the Temple was a popular subject in European painting throughout the 14th c. It was taken from the Gospel of Luke, when Christ, the first-born Child, was presented at the Temple according to the law of Moses, with the decreed redemptory sacrifice of the poor: a pair of turtle-doves. Thereupon Simeon recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah and prophesied to Mary that a sword of pain would pierce her soul.